Education students at Medicine Hat College who have adopted Connaught Pond. - SUBMITTED PHOTO JASON MCLESTER
reporter@medicinehatnews.com
The education team at Medicine Hat College adopted Connaught Pond two years ago and duties are shared among all the classes.
When a group adopts a pond, they agree to visit the pond as a group (of four or more members)Â at least once or twice a year. Additionally, one or more members agrees to visit the pond to show it love – such as by singing, praying, meditating or playing an instrument by the pond – picking up trash and reporting invasive species on the EDDMaps app.
Jason McLester, education and kinesiology instructor at MHC, spearheaded the project after connecting with South East Alberta Watershed Alliance director Martha Munz-Gue, who is responsible for the adopt-a-pond initiative. McLester teaches the science curriculum and instruction course. As wetlands and environmental issues are connected to science, he incorporates it as part of the course.
McLester has been with MHC for the past 19 years. He is a former teacher who has a minor in science and major in physical education, skills he was able to transfer when he moved from teaching high school to college.
“I get to affect schools in a different way. Rather than teaching, I get to teach the teachers who will be in the schools, so it’s kind of neat that way,” said McLester.
The students in his class are undertaking an elementary education degree, which is a collaborative degree between Mount Royal University and MHC.
“I am trying to model for them an idea I hope they use with their students. Students won’t hear about the environment unless they are in it. I try to use that mantra with them and get them out to the pond or other areas to spend more time and intentionally appreciate nature. We did a scavenger hunt at the start of the year around the pond and they had to find different trees, bushes plants, and animals,” said McLester. “I wanted to bring Martha in, as the person running the adopt-a-pond initiative, to tell us more about invasive species and widen our knowledge about the ecosystem.”
Each year, McLester’s class has a community classroom assignment where students must choose an outdoor venue to host a multi-day learning experience.
Last year Connaught Pond was used as the muse. After the assignment was completed, the plans created by the students were shared with the Medicine Hat Public School Division, resulting in some schools using the pond as a learning classroom.
